Gran Turismo 6 Announced for PS3, But Don’t Count the PS4 Out

With the announcement of Gran Turismo 6 yesterday, some may have been surprised to learn that it will be a PlayStation 3 title as opposed to PlayStation 4. From a business standpoint, this makes sense, since the PlayStation 3 has a huge install base. The thing is, though, Gran Turismo is one of Sony’s most successful franchises, selling over 70 million games worldwide, and is widely recognized as a system seller, so why not make it a PlayStation 4 title and have a surge in hardware sales?

Well, obviously the guys at IGN had that same train of thought. Asking the creator of Gran Turismo, Kazunori Yamauchi, why they didn’t make it a PlayStation 4 title, he responded with:

“We actually do have a PlayStation 4 version in mind, but for this holiday season, we thought it would be best for users to release on PS3 for now.”

It may not be a confirmation, but it does show that it could eventually port over to the PlayStation 4. It may not be just a simple port, though, as Polyphony Digital has announced during the 15 year anniversary event yesterday, that the game’s engine allows for expansion, so, in theory, it could make the game run and look better than just doing a simple port.

One of the more interesting tidbits from the above article is that Yamauchi said that there is a possibility that they will be able to make it so people who own the PS3 version will be able to continue progress on the PS4 version, which would, I think, make for even more sales.

Drive Club is a completely different game. It’s an arcade-type racer. As much as I can’t wait for Drive Club, I prefer more realistic handling, and thus I, and many others, would prefer GT. There are others who prefer the atrocious slip-slidey handling of Need for Speed, which is what Drive Club will likely be closer to (think games like GRiD, etc.), so there’s different tastes in racing games. In other words, PS4 is still missing a racing sim, and Drive Club is not going to fill that void.

I was hoping GT6 would be a launch title for PS4, but apparently that won’t happen. It’s going to suck because I will buy GT6 on PS3, then I’ll be buying a PS4, and won’t be able to play my still new GT6 on my brand new console. And what if I get rid of my PS3 whenever I get my PS4? I’ll have to wait years more for a GT7 release on my PS4?

Well, if Yamauchi is able to do what he is suggesting, although it sucks, but if GT6 is indeed being developed for PS4 as well, albeit it would likely be a non-launch title, it could still theoretically release a few months after its PS3 launch and then you’d only have to buy the PS4 version and continue your progress on that.

I only want to purchase the game once, $65 is enough money for this game, no more. And certainly not buying it twice. I’ve been loyal to the GT brand since GT2, but they still only get one game out of me per revolution.

What I’d like to happen, however not likely, is for me to be able to purchase GT6 for PS3, play it for however long until PS4 comes out, then transfer my game, or license and download GT6 for PS4, as well as all of my current progress and saves and cars to my new console. Unless that’s able to be worked out, I will be forced to sit out on GT6 until I get a PS4, and PS4 gets a Gran Turismo. Which sucks.